Considering the wearable technology available to us today, it’s amazing to think there was a time when you had to manually reset the calendar on your digital watch each month if you wanted it to stay accurate. That was the situation before the Casio Casiotron QW02 arrived in 1974. It was Casio’s first wristwatch and the first digital watch to have a fully automatic calendar.
Now, 50 years later , Casio has commemorated its release with the Casiotron TRN-50 , a lovingly designed retro reissue with more modern connected tech inside. It comes at a time when some of us are trying to avoid so many notifications interrupting our day, and it’s probably the coolest way to achieve this goal yet. Why this is such a classic watch It’s hard to fathom how big a deal the original Casiotron QW02 was from both a technological and horological standpoint, but the 1970s price gives you some idea.
According to Casio , it could cost up to 58,000 yen in 1974, which was about the monthly salary a Japanese university graduate could expect at the time. For context, in 2024 in the U.S.
, this is estimated to be around $5,700 , so more expensive than an Apple Vision Pro , and up there with luxury watches from brands like Omega and Tudor. Today, Casio is probably better known for its G-Shock models or perennial favorites like the F-91, but the QW02 was where it all began, so reimagining the watch for its 50th anniversary is appropriate. It did so earlier this year with the limited edition TRN-50 .